Japanese Man Poses as Foreigner in Convenience Store Robbery

Aug 20, 2026 | News On Japan

GUNMA - A 32-year-old Japanese man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to rob a convenience store in Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, after allegedly posing as a foreigner and demanding money in broken Japanese while threatening the store manager with a knife.

The suspect, Atsushi Goto, is accused of entering the convenience store as a customer on August 18 before pulling a knife on the manager and demanding money.

Police said Goto told the manager, "Please give me money," but fled without taking anything after the manager resisted.

According to investigators, Goto has told police that he pretended to be a foreigner and deliberately spoke in broken Japanese when making the demand.

Police are also investigating whether Goto was involved in a similar robbery the previous day at another convenience store about 22 kilometers away.

In that incident, a man threatened the store manager with a knife while saying, "Please give me money," and escaped with about 30,000 yen in cash.

Police believe Goto may have been responsible for both incidents and are continuing their investigation.

Source: FNN

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